Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $6.51 Million Position in Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ:NTRS) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Northern Trust were worth $6,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 10,566.7% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 343.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 435 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,041,285.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Teresa Parker sold 5,883 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $494,524.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 83,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,041,285.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Gossett sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $533,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,552,052.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,738 shares of company stock worth $1,191,388 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Northern Trust from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northern Trust from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Northern Trust from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Northern Trust from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Northern Trust from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.75.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NASDAQ NTRS opened at $91.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.27. Northern Trust Co. has a 52-week low of $62.44 and a 52-week high of $92.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The asset manager reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northern Trust Co. will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.23%.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.